


Chicken

by PinkAfroPuffs



Series: Fate/Slutty Meme Magus [7]
Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining, moron x moron, nightingale mentions, sex mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 21:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20365402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkAfroPuffs/pseuds/PinkAfroPuffs
Summary: “My bounty is as boundless as the sea,My love as deep; the more I give to thee,The more I have, for both are infinite.”-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet





	Chicken

**Author's Note:**

> wrangling Merlin is like doing a hyper specific thing to make an enemy give you the proper drop you want, and then repeating that action exactly fourteen times so that he doesn't stop dropping that specific item. that's really all you need to know i guess. still love him, though.

“This movie is stupid.”

She should have picked it herself. Instead, someone had voted on “Romeo and Juliet”, one of her most hated pieces of media to exist. Though she admitted it had some merit, it was in no way as romantic as everyone wanted to think; that sort of thing left a bad taste in her mouth, and she was very open about saying so. 

The kotatsu over her knees feels warm. She’s never gotten to use one before. Interesting, what Chaldea had in its storage rooms. There’s a lot of convenient stuff down there, and Ifumi was just getting into it all. 

“Are you hate-watching it, then?” His voice is always so soft it tickles her ear when it greets her; though Merlin decidedly sits beside her, he wastes no time in getting comfortable- namely by laying his head in her lap. She knows he’s testing her again, wondering how far she’ll let him be “comfortable” with her, and decides to let it be for a moment. “I didn’t think you were the kind to complain for fun, Master.”

She lowers her gaze to acknowledge him, though she doesn’t shift her weight to move him. “I’m not hate watching! I just...really hate sad stories and I was bored. They could’ve both lived, you know.”

“Surely,” he agrees, wiggling just slightly as his eyes close. “But the story is beautiful in its own way, isn’t it? The sword fights, the drama, the murder...the forbidden love...”

“No,” she answers. “A couple kids dying because their parents are idiots, or because nobody knew how to communicate isn’t beautiful at all.”

His eyebrows go up, obviously amused. “Maybe, maybe. But not all stories end happily.”

“Of course not,” she scoffs, sparing a glance at him. “I’m not...being unreasonable. Don’t give me that look.”

He grins impishly. It’s clear he knows what she’s talking about, so he innocently asks, “What look?”

“You know what look,” she huffs, but her fingers thread through the hair on top of his head anyway. His eyes are still on her, though she won’t meet them, and she wonders what he’s looking at. Maybe her embarrassment at indulging herself. “Besides it...it would be more beautiful if they triumphed at the end. There are too many stories that are cautionary tales and frankly, I’m tired of this one being seen as peak romance.”

“Mm, I can agree on that sort of thing,” he admits. “But you can’t tell me that Romeo doesn’t know his stuff.” His eyes sparkle before he quotes, “‘Tis the east, and Juliet is the sun!’”

She grabs a pillow from behind her person and smacks it into his face. “Hush up.”

“Aww,” his muffled voice comes from under the pillow. “That was mean.” Then his hands take hold of the pillow and he peeks over it at her. “You aren’t very romantic, are you?”

She was _ plenty _ romantic! In fact, saying such things made her kind of mad! “...alright, get up, you overstayed your welcome.”

“Kidding, kidding, Master!” He hastily apologizes. “Please let me stay. Pleaaaaase?”

Admittedly, it’s warmer with his head in her lap, and she really enjoys threading her hands through his hair. Funny, she didn’t think of herself as a tactile person before meeting him. “...alright. But you have to promise to play video games with me later.”

“You’re very gracious, Ifumi,” he muses. “Or...hmm, perhaps it’s that you’ve taken a liking to me?”

Ifumi’s eyes flickered down to his person; when she had taken in his expression and considered the smugness of his face, she said, “Yeah. I have.” And then, clearly, “I like you.”

She expects him to become more smug about the admission; instead he sort of nods, smiling as he tilts his head this way and that in her lap, almost as though he doesn’t quite understand what she means. Then the smile falls, and their eyes meet. And he pauses, his mouth opening a bit as his eyes grow a bit wide, like a man experiencing an epiphany.

It’s a strange reaction. It becomes stranger still when he sits up rather abruptly and wiggles free of his place in her lap. Is there...blood rushing to his cheeks? Maybe it’s simply the lighting; though it’s movie night, the place isn’t totally dark, but it is dimly lit. 

Interested, she watches him. “Hm?”

“Somehow I have something I need to do at this exact moment!” He informs her, and quick as a whip, he’s gone, leaving a trail of pink flowers behind him. 

* * *

“Good job today!”

Ifumi is so winded she’s about to fall over, but she knows it’s good for morale if she fakes it a little. Actually, her side aches a bit, so she leans back carefully, until she’s touching the railing to her side. “We’re almost ready to rayshift, if everyone’s ready. Remember not to leave anything you might regret!”

Ugh, the soreness in her back and sides is starting to get to her. Hopefully Nightingale won’t notice, as Ifumi enjoys having a spine and doesn’t want to chance it being “fixed” by the nurse’s over vigilance. 

“Master seems to be doing her best too, hm?” Merlin had finished healing their party enough for the incapacitated members to move properly, and leaned over her against his staff with one hand on his hip. There was a teasing edge to his voice that she wanted to ignore, despite knowing that he was two seconds away from chastising her. “Hmm...should I give you a reward for working so hard?”

That was unexpected. In fact, she put her hand over her mouth, wishing she wasn’t charmed by it. “A reward? You still owe me one from making you stronger, Mr. Out Of Shape Magus.” And for running off on her the way he had, the other day.

“That hurts, Master,” he pouted. “Though I suppose I _ did _ promise something like that...was it ages ago?” He sounded wistful. “Maybe, Master, many years from now, I’ll remember that promise and honor you with it-”

“You’re really stingy, you know that?” She wished it didn’t hurt to laugh- and it must have showed on her face, because he leaned over to help her. 

“I didn’t think you were the type to tally favors, Master,” he chuckled. “Alright, then, how about it? I’ll give you aaaaanything you want once we’re home.”

It sounded nice, the way he said it. Like they were going to _ their _ home, and not Chaldea. “That does sound nice. Is there a catch?” 

“Hmmmmmmm….” He rubs his chin. “That’s true, you do like rules, don’t you?” 

If she didn’t feel like taking a long overdue nap, she’d swing on him right now. “No! You already owe me this, I was just joking!” Like someone paying money they owed by buying an unnecessary gift, instead of the original fine, Merlin was just trying to find his way around things again. “I know what I’m going to ask for. I’m just making sure that you mean _ anything _.”

His eyes sparkle, but in a more muted way than normal; when he leans close enough for her to hear his soft voice, he agrees, “_ A-ny-thing _~<3”

She wishes she knew he was sincere; there’s a way about him that makes her mind a little muddled when he stops acting like a dumbass for more than five minutes, and it always throws her off. “...then I want a kiss,” she says, and then gauges his expression. 

He seemed a bit amused by this, the spark in his eyes almost acknowledging it as a challenge. “My, my, Master! That’s quite bold of you, isn’t it?” And then, with a little tilt of his head, “But I did say anything, didn’t I? Well…” he smiled at her softly, “where do you want it?”

Even though she gets the feeling he’s making this a game of chicken, she isn’t going to back down. With one careful gesture, she raises her index finger to her lips and then smiles, never taking her eyes off of him. “Right here.” 

“Mm,” he muses. “What would the other Servants say, I wonder~?”

She doesn’t answer this, though she tries not to smile. “Is that a yes?” 

“Hmm,” he hums. “Well~! I’m no good at promises, but I can try, right? Come to the common area after lunchtime and I’ll see what I can do.”

She was going to ask again if he thought he could weasel out of it; it was fine if he simply said _ no, _but for some reason, he never gave her a concrete no- barring the time he’d propositioned her and she’d dared him to make good on it. Maybe she was hoping for too much. Maybe it was simply in his nature to “have fun” in this way. But she still liked him- though she was a fool for it.

* * *

Maybe she should have asked him to do a run every morning instead. It would’ve been less nerve racking than asking for a kiss, or waiting for him in the commons. Was she stupid? Or maybe it was that she’d _ become _ stupid. Before this sort of nonsense ever started, she’d never be charmed by the likes of him- or know, instinctively, if there was a certain _ something _ worth looking for in him. She’d thought she’d seen it. Maybe that was wishful thinking-

She considered pouring herself a glass of water to calm her nerves. Maybe it would be cool to play at...not actually waiting on him? Acting as though she had ‘nothing better to do’ anyway? But it was her policy to be honest, up front and clear about her motives. If he didn’t respect that, she’d know. He seemed to, before. 

Absentmindedly, she poured herself a cup of coffee. She shouldn’t. If he was _ really _ going to make good on his promise, that would be-

Oh, who cares! She dumped her creamer in and grabbed a straw to sip it. It may speed up her heart rate, but it’d calm her nerves a little-

“Boo!”

Ifumi nearly jumped out of her skin, yelling despite herself- which earned a laugh from Merlin. Hot coffee spilled across the counter and her cup nearly fell to the ground; with a cry of, “Merlin! You bastard!” she smacked his shoulder before grabbing some paper towels for the mess. 

“So you _ were _ waiting on me, hm?” He sounded a bit too pleased. “My, my, for such a serious young lady, you put a lot of trust in this out-of-shape magus.”

“I’m going to throw coffee on you,” she threatened. “And you came, didn’t you?”

His mouth screwed up a bit, almost as though he’d been caught. Purposely, he didn’t dignify it with a response. “Well, you want your reward, don’t you?” His hands clasped together, his expression so delighted that he closed his eyes when he smiled. “Close your eyes.”

She made a face at him. “...alright.” Reluctant to trust him not to make a fool out of her, she closed her eyes. 

She waited for what felt like an eternity before something touched her; texture that was soft and indiscernible brushed against her lips, and though she was sure it was not what she _ wanted _, it certainly smelled like him. 

He didn’t give her permission to open her eyes when she did, to peek; a flower was pressed against her lips instead of his own, which caused her eyebrows to pull together in disappointment. “...Merlin,” she begins, carefully moving his hand and the flower both, “you know that’s not what I-”

She did not expect him to meet her in the middle; it was an artful tactic, catching her mouth with his in just the second it took her to complain, and even more cunning, still, for them to be holding hands in such a way. Baffling. He was so stupid, leaving this impression of his mouth on her. Worse, still, that she hadn’t considered how gentle he might be about it- how _ thorough _, too, for one to honor his promise in such a way. What an asshole, what an absolute bastard-

When they separate, he smiles, though not as smugly as she might have expected; in the softest of voices, he murmurs, “Tastes like coffee,” before inspecting her closely. “I wonder, if I have any more of you, will you keep me up all night?”

She wants to tell him something clever, to sound witty or cute, but all she can think of is his hand intertwined with hers and the nearly-squashed flower in the middle of them both. Of his mouth, as he licks his lips at what must be her _ taste _. Ifumi had underestimated him too much. Maybe somewhere she’d forgotten that he was an incubus. Or maybe she’d been too caught up in his general dumbassery to care. 

“You’ve changed your tune,” she whispers. “I thought maybe-” She pauses, and his eyes are still on her, measuring her expression. “...you were too chicken.”

“Chicken!” He exclaims, and some portion of the spell is broken. “My dear, is that what you think of me? A _ chicken _…!”

“Yes,” she says, and a part of her brain returns to her. “You’re a big chicken and you run away whenever someone is honest with you.”

He leans back a bit, but says nothing, eyes suddenly on something “interesting” in the right corner of the room. She takes this chance to continue, “I told you I liked you two days ago, and you ran off.”

His eyes flicker from the point of interest and back to her face. It’s hard to tell what he might be thinking right now, what with his constant shifting in and out of his sage-like serious tone and his wily and flirtatious nature. There’s something about the comment that makes _ something _ bloom against his cheeks, but his complexion is normally the kind of pink that makes it hard to tell. “Oh, that? I simply had something else to do. Didn’t I say so?” He leans close to her again, but the sparkle in his eyes doesn’t hide that he’s definitely lying. 

“Then what will you do if I say it now?” She asks. “If I tell you I like you. That I really like you, and that it’s bothering me because I’m honest about liking a dumbass like you.”

His mouth opens. Then it closes. Then it opens again. No sound comes out. “Hm. You’re really unfair, Master... You wield your words like a pack of knives.”

“They’re the only weapons I’ve got,” she agrees. “Especially now.”

Merlin’s features visibly soften; there is something in his eyes that makes her wonder what he sees, and she isn’t sure if he’s seen her future and is sparing her of something or maybe-

The idea that he _ knows her _ is both exciting and terrifying at once. Being known is already an ordeal; though honest about her motives and forward about her thoughts, it still feels intimate to think that someone other than her family may see her fully as a _ someone _ that stands out in ways she can’t see herself. She shakes her head. “Well, you-” She turned her head. “...gave me my reward. So you can go, if you want.”

“Hm,” is all he says, but he’s still studying her. “...I wonder. Wasn’t there something about another favor I owed you?”

There were two, actually. One was about video games, and the other, she’d only use for- “I should put off the other favor until I want another kiss,” she explains aloud, and his eyebrows go up in delight.

There’s a soft sort of laughter that escapes him; with a little toss of his head, he asks, “Wouldn’t it be more to your advantage to save it for something else?”

“No,” she replies easily. “If this is the only way I can get you to kiss me, I’m going to hoard it like a dragon.”

He tilts his head at her. Their hands are still jointed with the flower in between; with a gentle tug, he lowers his head and brings her hand up to his mouth before pressing a kiss to her knuckles, all without breaking eye contact. “Why don’t you ask for something useful instead?” He asks, and though his tone is playful, she doesn’t miss the coy look in his eye. “Have you ever wanted to talk to animals? Dye your hair pink?”

With her free hand, she pulls on his robes to move him closer to her, taking a deep whiff of springtime into her nose before she says, “I just want you to kiss me, Merlin.”

He smiles, though the sparkle in his eyes is somewhat dimmed. “Is that all?”

“No,” she tells him with a smile. “Take me to my room.” When she releases him and untangles herself from his person, she waves the flower he gave her and trails past him. She waits, too, for his eyebrows to go up, for him to think, even for a moment, that she might be propositioning him, but before he can say something dirty, she grins, “You’re supposed to play games with me, aren’t you?”

Another little chuckle escapes him as he crosses his arms and shakes his head. “Easy to please as always, Master.”

“I know,” she shrugs, but he follows her anyway, and the door to the commons clicks shut.


End file.
